A new sequence of international latitude service pole coordinates and the secular polar motion

From individual ILS data in a homogeneous system, we derived a new sequence of the coordinates of the pole. This was then used in an analysis of the secular polar motion. We found: 1) At a confidence level of 95%, the linear drift of the ILS mean pole over the last 80 years is along 63° 3 longitude West, at an average speed of 0″.00305/yr. 2) The libration of the mean pole is rather regular, with a prominent term of about 30 yr, and detectable terms of 18.6 yr and 9.3 yr. 3) Station Ukiah is drifting northwards at a speed of 0″.00276/yr, while all the other stations are quite stable. Hence the ILS data cannot be taken as showing an anti-clockwise rotation of the Pacific coast at present.     

The solution for seasonal variations in the Earth's rate of rotation

New physical principles for an explanation of seasonal variations in the Earth's rate of rotation are proposed. It is thought that the variations are caused by a variation of the total energy of the Earth's atmosphere in the course of the planet's revolution about the Sun in elliptic orbit. Jacobi's virial equation for the Earth's atmosphere is derived from the Eulerian equations. The virial theorem is obtained. The existence of the relationship between Jacobi's function and potential energy of the atmosphere is confirmed. In the framework of this relationship, Jacobi's equation is reduced to the equation of unperturbed virial oscillations. The solution of the above-mentioned equation expresses the periodic virial oscillations of Jacobi's function (moment of inertia) of the Earth's atmosphere with time. The solution of the perturbed virial oscillation problem of the atmosphere-solid Earth system is obtained. The perturbation term in Jacobi's virial equation regards, in explicit form, the energy changes occurring in the atmosphere in the course of the planet's revolution about the Sun in elliptic orbit. The annual and semi-annual periodic variations in the Earth's rate of rotation can be considered as an astrometrical result following from the obtained solution. A satisfactory accord of the theoretical results with experimental data is shown.     

Climate and paleoclimate: What we can learn about solar luminosity variations

The Earth's climate is not constant, and has experienced major changes in the past on all timescales. The causes of these changes, although still incompletely understood, vary according to the timescale considered. Some of the most important causal mechanisms include continental drift, changes in the Earth's orbital parameters, volcanic activity and solar variations. Solar variations have been invoked to explain climatic change on almost all timescales from 1 to 10⁹ yr. Unfortunately, even though the Sun is a prime candidate for explaining many changes in past climate, the use of past climate as a proxy for solar luminosity changes is fraught with difficulty. For example:

1. In many cases observed changes in climate can be adequately explained without recourse to solar variations as a causal factor. In fact, on the longest timescales the Earth's climate was remarkably similar to today in spite of a considerably lower solar output.
2. For most timescales of climatic change there are, as yet, no plausible theories giving similar timescale variations in solar activity, so that a vital link between cause and effect is missing.
3. There are considerable uncertainties in the record of past climates.
4. On short timescales many proposed solar activity-climate links have failed to stand up to rigorous statistical analysis.

This paper reviews past changes in climate and proposed causal mechanisms on timescales of from 1 to 10⁹ yr. The evidence for solar activity-climate links is discussed with special reference to the above points.     

Precession of the orbital nodes of Jupiter and Saturn triggered by the mutual perturbation: A model of two rings

The problem of the precession of the orbital planes of Jupiter and Saturn under the influence of mutual gravitational perturbations was formulated and solved using a simple dynamical model. Using the Gauss method, the planetary orbits are modeled by material circular rings, intersecting along the diameter at a small angle α. The planet masses, semimajor axes and inclination angles of orbits correspond to the rings. What is new is that each ring has an angular momentum equal to the orbital angular momentum of the planet. Contrary to popular belief, it was proved that the orbital resonance 5: 2 does not preclude the use of the ring model. Moreover, the period of averaging of the disturbing force (T ≈ 1332 yr) proves to be appreciably greater than a conventionally used period (≈900 yr). The mutual potential energy of rings and the torque of gravitational forces between the rings were calculated. We compiled and solved the system of differential equations for the spatial motion of rings. It was established that a perturbing torque causes the precession and simultaneous rotation of the orbital planes of Jupiter and Saturn. Moreover, the opposite orbit nodes on the Laplace plane coincide and perform a secular movement in retrograde direction with the same velocity of 25.6″/yr and the period T _J = T _S ≈ 50687 yr. These results are close to those obtained in the general theory (25.93″/yr), which confirms the adequacy of the developed model. It was found that the vectors of the angular velocity of orbital rings move counterclockwise over circular cones and describe circles on the celestial sphere with radii β₁ ≈ 0.8403504° (Saturn) and β₂ ≈ 0.3409296° (Jupiter) around the point which is located at an angular distance of 1.647607° from the ecliptic pole.     

Connection of low-frequency variations of the Earth’s pole with the North Atlantic Oscillation

The so-called Markowitz wobble (MW) is a quasi-harmonic variation of the mean pole of the Earth with a period of about 30 years and an amplitude of 0.02″–0.03″. In turn, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which is characterized by large-scale phenomena in the system of atmosphere-ocean processes in this region, shows variations of some meteorological parameters in a wide frequency range. Synchronous oscillations of the pole (MW) and the NAO indices are revealed in the present study. The possibility of geophysical excitation of MW oscillations by variations of pressure fields in the North Atlantic is investigated as well.     

EVIDENCE OF HIGH COSMIC DUST CONCENTRATIONS IN LATE PLEISTOCENE POLAR ICE (20,000–14,000 YEARS BP)

Dust filtered from the lower portion of the Camp Century ice core (77°10'N, 61°08'W) has been analyzed for the presence of the cosmic dust indicators iridium and nickel using the neutron activation analysis technique. This study was carried out to test the hypothesis that the climatic change toward the end of the Last Ice Age was triggered by an incursion of nebular material into the Solar System. The analytical results are consistent with this hypothesis. Concentrations of Ir and Ni in the ice were one to two orders of magnitude higher during the latter portion of the Last Ice Age (19,700-14,200 years BP) as compared with current levels. Ir and Ni levels in 6 out of 8 samples suggest a total cosmic dust influx rate of about 0.5?3 times 10⁷ tons/yr to the Earth's surface as compared with about 1?7 x× 10⁵ tons/yr for the current influx. Elemental concentrations in 6 of the 8 dust samples ranged from 6? 96 ppb for Ir and < 60 to 3200 ppm for Ni. It is concluded that a major fraction of this invading dust would have been of submicron size in which case the concentration of light scattering particles would have been sufficient to significantly alter the light transmission properties of the Solar System and substantially affect the Earth's climate. These results mark the first time that cosmic dust deposition rates have been estimated for prehistoric times using the polar ice record.     

Theoretische Betrachtungen zum Verhalten des Magnetfeldes in einem sphärischen Erdmodell

The theoreticl treatment of several geophysical problems presupposes the solution of field equations of the magnetic field in the Earth's mantle. The field equations are given in a scalar form for a spherical model of the Earth. It will be shown that analytical solutions are possible in all cases. The boundary conditions are discussed with regard to the dynamo process in the Earth's core and the existence of a field representation, which is investigated on the Earth's surface. The question is discussed, to what extend the mantle's field is given by this field representation, when some special assumptions about the Earth's model are made.     

On some aspects of the albedo effect application to the ERS-1 satellite

Some aspects of the perturbative influence of radiation reflected by the Earth's surface on the motion of an artificial satellite are discussed. We concentrate on consequences of the extreme models with anisotropic reflection on the Earth's surface (specular reflection, clouds with anisotropic phase function). The possible effects of Lála's modification of the Earth's albedo nominal value are investigated. The role of the satellite surface optical properties is pointed out in the context of the albedo effect. All mentioned models are purely numerical. The whole message of the paper can be summarized in the following items

-It is very doubtful that the 10^?8 ÷ 10^?9 m s^?2 level is reached when determining the perturbing accelerations caused by the albedo effect in the case of the ERS-1 satellite due to poorly defined optical characteristics of the Earth's atmosphere, the Earth and the satellite's surface.

-In the general case this albedo effect uncertainty level is about 50% with respect to the averaged values, and probably as high as 100% with respect to the instantaneous values of the perturbing accelerations.

     

Les composantes du déplacement séculaire du pôle d'inertie de la Terre

After homogenizing the declination systems of the ILS Catalogue, the secular motion of the mean pole is studied. Our analyses leads to two components of this motion: a progressive component (already known) and an elliptical one.     

The Tajikistan superbolide of July 23, 2008. I. Trajectory,orbit, and preliminary fall data

The results of the atmospheric trajectory, radiant, heliocentric orbit, and preliminary strewn field calculations for an extremely bright slow‐moving fireball are presented. In the evening hours of July 23, 2008, a bright object entered Earth's atmosphere over Tajikistan. The fireball had a ?20.3 maximum absolute magnitude and a spectacularly long persistent dust trail remained visible over a widespread region of Tajikistan for about 28 minutes after sunset. The fireball was also recorded by a visible‐light satellite system at 14 h 45 min 25 s UT, and the dust trail was imaged by video and photocameras. A unique aspect of this event is that it was detected by two infrasound and five seismic stations too. The bolide was first recorded at a height of 38.2 km, reached its maximum brightness at a height of 35.0 km, and finished at a height of 19.6 km. The first breakup occurred under an aerodynamic pressure of approximately 1.6 MPa, similar to the values derived for breakups of the scarcely reported meteorite‐dropping bolides. The fireball's trajectory and dynamic results suggest that meteorite survival is likely. The meteoroid followed an Apollo‐like asteroid orbit comparable to those derived for previously recovered meteorites with accurately known orbits.     

A New Ionosphere Monitoring Technology Based on GPS

Although global positioning system (GPS) was originally planned as a satellite-based radio-navigation system for military purposes, civilian users have significantly increased their access to the system for both, commercial and scientific applications. Almost 400 permanent GPS tracking stations have been stablished around the globe with the main purpose of supporting scientific research. In addition, several GPS receivers on board of low Earth orbit satellites fitted with special antennas that focus on Earth's horizon, are tracking the radio signals broadcasted by the high-orbiting GPS satellites, as they rise and set on Earth horizon. The data of these ground and space-born GPS receivers, readily accessible through Internet in a ‘virtual observatory’ managed by the International GPS Service, are extensively used for many researches and might possibly ignite a revolution in Earth remote sensing. By measuring the changes in the time it takes for the GPS signals to arrive at the receiver as they travel through Earth's atmosphere, scientists can derive a surprising amount of information about the Earth's ionosphere, a turbulent shroud of charged particles that, when stimulated by solar flares, can disrupt communications around the world. This contribution presents a methodology to obtain high temporal resolution images of the ionospheric electron content that lead to two-dimensional vertical total electron content maps and three-dimensional electron density distribution. Some exemplifying results are shown at the end of the paper.     

Fireballs: Interpretation of airblast data

Abstract— When a meteoroid passes through the Earth's atmosphere, it may generate acoustic waves in the form of a conical shock front and again in an explosive terminal burst. These acoustic waves reach the ground and their arrival times may be recorded on seismograms. Equations are given (with numerical examples, and for various atmospheric models) to recover the track of the meteoroid, and possibly the meteorite, from times of arrival at the seismographic stations.     

The rate of small impacts on Earth

Abstract— Asteroids tens to hundreds of meters in diameter constitute the most immediate impact hazard to human populations, yet the rate at which they arrive at Earth's surface is poorly known. Astronomic observations are still incomplete in this size range; impactors are subjected to disruption in Earth's atmosphere, and unlike the Moon, small craters on Earth are rapidly eroded. In this paper, we first model the atmospheric behavior of iron and stony bodies over the mass range 1–10¹² kg (size range 6 cm‐1 km) taking into account deceleration, ablation, and fragmentation. Previous models in meteoritics deal with rather small masses (<10⁵–10⁶ kg) with the aim of interpreting registered fireballs in atmosphere, or with substantially larger objects without taking into account asteroid disruption to model cratering processes. A few earlier attempts to model terrestrial crater strewn fields did not take into account possible cascade fragmentation. We have performed large numbers of simulations in a wide mass range, using both the earlier “pancake” models and also the separated fragments model to develop a statistical picture of atmosphere‐bolide interaction for both iron and stony impactors with initial diameters up to ?1 km. Second, using a compilation of data for the flux at the upper atmosphere, we have derived a cumulative size‐frequency distribution (SFD) for upper atmosphere impactors. This curve is a close fit to virtually all of the upper atmosphere data over 16 orders of magnitude. Third, we have applied our model results to scale the upper atmosphere curve to a flux at the Earth's surface, elucidating the impact rate of objects <1 km diameter on Earth. We find that iron meteorites >5 times 10⁴ kg (2.5 m) arrive at the Earth's surface approximately once every 50 years. Iron bodies a few meters in diameter (10⁵–10⁶ kg), which form craters ?100 m in diameter, will strike the Earth's land area every 500 years. Larger bodies will form craters 0.5 km in diameter every 20,000 years, and craters 1 km in diameter will be formed on the Earth's land area every 50,000 years. Tunguska events (low‐level atmospheric disruption of stony bolides >10⁸ kg) may occur every 500 years. Bodies capable of producing hazardous tsunami (?200 m diameter projectiles) should strike the Earth's surface every ?100,000 years. This data also allows us to assess the completeness of the terrestrial crater record for a given area over a given time interval.     

Chemical abundances determined from meteor spectra: I. Ratios of the main chemical elements

Abstract— Relative chemical abundances of 13 meteoroids were determined by averaging the composition of the radiating gas along the fireball path that originated during their penetration into the Earth's atmosphere. Mg, Fe, Ni, Cr, Mn, and Co abundances, relative to Si, are similar to those reported for CI and CM carbonaceous chondrites and interplanetary dust particles. In contrast, relative abundances of Ca and Ti in meteor spectra indicate that these elements suffer incomplete evaporation processes. The chemical composition of all meteoroids studied in this work differs from that of 1P/Halley dust.     

A review of the Nimbus-7 ERB solar dataset

Fourteen years (November 16, 1978 through January 24, 1993) of Nimbus-7 total solar irradiance measurements have been made. The measured mean annual solar energy just outside of the Earth's atmosphere was about 0.1% (1.4 W/m²) higher in the peak years of 1979 (cycle 21) and 1991 (cycle 22) than in the quiet Sun years of 1985/86. Comparison with shorter, independent solar measurement sets and with empirical models qualitatively confirms the Nimbus-7 results. But these comparisons also raise questions of detail for future studies: in which years did the peaks actually occur and just how accurate are the models and the measurements?     

An interpretation of the variations of the magnetic core-mantle coupling torques and the core drift rate

The influence of recently computed axial magnetic core-mantle coupling torques on the Earth's rotation was investigated. These torques derived from poloidal geomagnetic field within the mantle and at the core-mantle boundary are retarding torques. An accelerating torque due to the action of unknown parts of the core field was estimated by inverse solution of the equation of the mantle rotation for the periodic variations of the quantities of the magnetic field and the length of day. The variations of the drift rate of the Earth's core were compared with those of the mantle rotation velocity for a force-free Earth. The time constants of the coupling process were estimated and discussed in connection with the magnetic coupling of the mantle with an upper core layer. Der Einfluß kürzlich berechneter axialer Kern-Mantel-Kopplungsmomente auf die Erdrotation wurde untersucht. Diese Lorentz-Drehmomente, abgeleitet vom poloidalen geomagnetischen Feld im Mantel und an der Kern-Mantel-Grenze, sind retardierende Momente. Ein beschleunigendes Drehmoment, das der Wirkung unbekannter Feldanteile zugeordnet wird, wurde durch inverse Lösung der Mantelrotationsgleichung für die periodischen Variationen der Magnetfeldgrößen und der Tageslänge abgeschätzt. Die Variationen der Kerndriftgeschwindigkeit wurden mit denen der Mantelrotationsgeschwindigkeit für eine kräftefreie Erde verglichen. Die Zeitkonstanten des Kopplungsprozesses wurden ermittelt und im Zusammenhang mit der magnetischen Kopplung des Mantels mit einer oberen Kernschicht diskutiert.     

On the origin of oscillations in a solar diameter observed through the Earth's atmosphere: A terrestrial atmospheric or a solar phenomenon

Interpretations of current and past results from ground-based solar diameter measurements, as well as the planning of scientific programs for the 1980's, are strongly dependent on the perceived level of the degrading effects of the Earth's atmosphere. One of the more effective approaches has been to design the observing program and the subsequent data analysis such that the solar diameter measurements themselves could provide an evaluation of atmospheric effects. Many important results have been obtained in studies of this type and these results are collected here to help in appraising the current situation. This evidence all points in one direction: the Earth's atmosphere, while complicating the design of observational programs, is not the source of the oscillations observed in solar diameter measurements. Further, this same evidence indicates that the Earth's atmosphere will not pose any serious limitations in ground-based solar diameter studies during the 1980's.     

A qualitative assessment of the influence of bioturbation in Lake Baikal sediments

The impact of bioturbation in Lake Baikal sediments, particularly on rhythmic layering and mixing, was assessed by studying the actual vertical distribution of benthic animals in continuous accumulation zones selected by seismic survey (Vydrino Shoulder, Posolskoe Bank, Continent Ridge). To assess the influence of the bioturbation, animals were extracted from short cores and identified at the relevant taxonomic level. The faunal distribution is examined in parallel with the bioturbation tracks observed in thin section. Oligochaeta, Nematoda, Ostracoda, Copepoda, Gammaridae, Chironomidae and Hydrachnidia were found inhabiting the sediment. Among them, only oligochaete worms were assumed to have a significant impact on sediment mixing because of their “conveyor belt” feeding. The other two most abundantly sampled groups, nematods and copepods, belong to the interstitial fauna that has no significant impact on the vertical displacement of sediment particles and do not ingest the sediment. The presence of a benthic fauna as deep as 15 cm in the sediment indicates that the possibility of sediment disturbance by invertebrate activity cannot be dismissed in Lake Baikal. The effect of biological mixing is more limited in the deepest stations because the number of potential bioturbators is reduced, qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Located in the abyssal zone, Continent and Vydrino (but outside turbidites) deep stations appear to be most promising sediment records for tracking climate signal at high resolution.     

Decametric radio measurement of Jupiter's rotation period

A total of 26 measurements of Jupiter's 12-year average rotation period were made at frequencies of 18, 20, and 22.2 MHz at observatories in Florida and Chile. An improved method was employed in which histograms of occurrence probability vs central meridian longitude obtained at the same frequency and observatory during apparitions about 12 years (one Jovian year) apart were cross correlated. The longitude shift giving maximum cross correlation was used to correct the initially assumed rotation period value. The mean of the measurements is 9 hr 55 min 29.689 sec, with a standard deviation of the mean of 0.005 sec. This is about 0.02 sec, or 4 standard deviations, less than the System III (1965) value. The measurements indicate that the rotation period was not changing (linearly) at a rate in excess of 0.03 sec/yr. If the synoptic monitoring program is continued through the next maximum of the jovicentric declination of the Earth (D_E), we will probably be able to detect a rate of change in rotation period as small as 0.002 sec/yr. This accuracy might be sufficient to reveal a secular drift in Jupiter's magnetic field.     

Orbit of the Murchison meteorite

Abstract— Because the path of the Murchison meteorite fortuitously intersected the Earth's path at an angle of only a few degrees, the visual observations establish the entry velocity to be within 2 km/s of 13 km/s and determine the nature of its orbit with a precision quite unusual for visually sighted falls.